Decorum over the handling of cellphones, iPads and other wireless devices at public meetings is stirring controversy as they become the primary communication tool of council members, county commissioners and legislators.

Many public officials say their smartphones and iPads are needed to quickly research issues and keep in touch with constituents. Others think it is rude and inappropriate to be surfing the Web and checking e-mails during a meeting.

For the most part, citizens and the ones they elect follow common courtesy when it comes to shutting off or muting a chirping phone.

“Most folks are aware of their cellphones, and they turn it off during meetings,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said. “I don’t think I’ve made a verbal reminder to tell public to mute their phone in quite a while.”

However, the Regional Transportation District board of directors is piecing together written guidelines for the use of cellphones and other wireless devices during public meetings, an issue most public boards and councils haven’t bothered to tackle.

“It’s not a problem, until it is a problem,” said Rachel Allen, staff attorney for the Colorado Municipal League.

Some lawmakers in 2009 complained that former state Republican chair Dick Wadhams was instructing GOP legislators on how to vote on key bills via e-mails or texts during meetings. Wadhams called the allegations “crazy” and led former Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak to declare she would not put down her device during meetings.

“I guess you are going to have to pry my BlackBerry out of my cold, dead hands,” she said.

Recently, RTD board members have been admonished for using their cellphones during public hearings.

That prompted a board member — former chair Lorraine Anderson — to angrily walk out of a subcommittee meeting after being told she to had to turn off her phone “as a sign of respect to the audience” by subcommittee chair Claudia Folska.

Anderson said she needed her cellphone to access the night’s consolidated agenda, adding that other board members do the same with their iPads.

Anderson has apologized, saying she meant no disrespect to the audience, to those making a presentation to the board or to her colleagues.

“I just felt bad not being able to control my temper,” Anderson said.

Still, she said, she needs her phone to research items coming up for discussion.

“If the conversation is wandering all over the place, I want to look ahead and see what’s coming up and be prepared for that,” she said.

Many cities now provide iPads to their council members for use during public meetings, and the devices are seen as essential tools, Allen said.

“A lot of communication now is all electronic,” she said, adding most cities don’t have hard and fast rules about the use of cellphones and other devices.

Former Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer would head off any potential cellphone interruptions by telling the audience that if their phones went off during a public meeting, they must contribute $5 to a charity jar in the council chambers.

An RTD survey earlier this month found that of 16 transit agencies that responded, only four either have policies in place or are considering policies dealing with smartphones and other devices during board meetings. RTD also surveyed area city councils.

Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown told RTD that the City Council needs a written policy, saying that the use of devices during council sessions is “plain rude to our audience and possibly a violation of the open-meetings law,” because the conversation is not being shared publicly.

The Boulder City Council, meanwhile, told RTD that it began banning the use of electronic devices in January after “concerns were raised that some council members appeared to be reading from private e-mail messages while proposing new amendments during contentious debates.”

Texting is prohibited in the state Senate chambers and in all other official meetings, while the state House has no formal rules, according to the RTD survey.

RTD board chair Chuck Sisk — also a former mayor — said the agency’s policies do not need to be draconian. It probably will allow devices and cellphones as long as they are not a distraction and will ask that cellphones be turned off or muted during a meeting.

“Really, it’s just a matter of common sense,” Sisk said. “Going back to the old paper-calender days is just not going to happen since we are awash with technology now.”

“Honestly,” Sisk added, “we are all adults, and we should be responsive to our public and our staff.”

The University of Colorado leadership is grappling with how to address a nationwide nosedive in the favorability of higher education — particularly, among conservatives — as CU’s own representatives and decision-makers disagree on what’s behind the downturn.